Reply To: What did you think of “On Tyranny” and why?
Mostly profoundly sobering but also somewhat hopeful, hopeful in the sense that Snyder provides ideas and options to resist, to stand up, ideas that are practical, workable.
“Practice Corporeal Politics” resonated with me. It fits with the practical, the “don’t just stand there, do something” approach. It offers an alternative to the inertia of doom scrolling. That chapter also ends with this, “The choice to be in public depends on the ability to maintain a private sphere of life.”
Whatever rights, opportunities, security or autonomy we have derives from the law. It seems like a false or artificial choice to decide between freedom and equality. They are wrapped up in acceptance of the law, of a representative government that follows the law. It seems to me that there are plenty of folks in the U.S. now who reject or fail to see that. They apparently believe that it is possible to remove the rights of some, to exempt some people from following the law and the effects of that will not harm, or even benefit, them. I hope we never find ourselves saying, “I told you so.”
I agree with Tara, that the impact of extreme wealth could use more scrutiny. It was economic inequality that contributed to authoritarianism and fascism in the 1930s. Today’s uber-wealthy are even more wealthy and influential. And the rallying cry to just give people an opportunity is being defined as income redistribution and socialism.
